Randy MacEwen has made 39 separate trips to China in less than four years — an indication of how much opportunity the British Columbia-based executive sees in that country.

On Wednesday, MacEwen, who is chief executive of Burnaby-based hydrogen fuel cell maker Ballard Power Systems Inc. announced a $208 million deal that links the company’s future to China’s fast-growing clean vehicle market.

Under the deal, Weichai Power Co., one of China’s largest diesel engine manufacturers, agreed to purchase $163 million worth of Ballard’s stock at a 15 per cent premium; and to invest an additional $45 million to form a joint venture that will manufacture Ballard’s fuel cells at a plant in China, where they could end up in buses, commercial trucks and forklifts.

Separately, on Wednesday, Vancouver-based Westport Fuel Systems also announced a deal with Weichai, which agreed to purchase its components and license its technology to build 18,000 natural gas engines by 2023. Taken together, the deals show how China is investing in a future that envisions a shift from internal combustion energy vehicles to lower-emission, clean energy vehicles. The vast scale of those investments is enticing Canadian companies to strike partnerships and form joint ventures that send their technology across the Pacific Ocean.

“We’re in the very early moments of a major global transformation of the transportation industry,” MacEwen told shareholders on a conference call on Wednesday. “This transformation involves the move towards zero-emission vehicles.”

Many Canadian mining companies, particularly those developing lithium and cobalt deposits, have been working with investors in China, Japan and South Korea, looking to source the metals for use in batteries for electric vehicles.

Van Hool bus powered by Ballard Power Systems Inc.Handout

By contrast, Ballard is designing and building fuel cells that can convert hydrogen to electricity, also for use in transportation. Such technology is better-suited for hauling heavy loads over a long range, an area where lithium-ion powered electric vehicles struggle, according to MacEwen.

In an interview with the Financial Post, he said China’s vast scale makes its market very appealing. MacEwen estimated China puts 400,000 new buses on its road every year, compared to around 5,000 in North America. That difference is attributable in part to the fact that China has growing urban areas with mass transportation needs, he said.

That Weichai, which is primarily a diesel engine company, is investing in hydrogen fuel cell technology, signals China’s commitment to improving air quality and fighting climate change, according to MacEwen.

“Two years ago, we wouldn’t have been able to engage a company like this,” he said.

Weichai has framed its deal with Westport as a way to improve air quality in China. Its chairman Tan Xuguang said Westport’s technology can cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 20 per cent, according to Westport’s press release.

MacEwen said the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, in which countries from around the world agreed to limit carbon emissions to mitigate climate change, has also opened up new business opportunities. Now, major cities around the globe have signalled their intention to phase out internal combustion engines in their public transportation fleets. That’s compelling diesel companies like Weichai to begin investing in alternatives, he said, such as his company’s hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Weichai’s investment in Ballard at $3.54, a 15 per cent premium to the company 30-day volume weighted trading price, gives it a 19.9 per cent position and the largest stake in the company.

In addition, one of Ballard’s previous shareholders, Zhongsan Broad-Ocean Motor Co. Ltd, agreed to invest an additional $20 million, also at $3.54 per share, to maintain its 9.9 per cent stake. The deal is expected to close by the end of 2018.

Weichai, which is 19 per cent owned by Shandong province, and also listed on the Hong Kong and Shenzen stock exchanges, also separately announced on Wednesday it has agreed to supply 2,000 fuel cells for commercial vehicles in China by 2021. Ballard said it is hoping to supply some part or all of that order.

“China will be the largest hydrogen fuel cell market starting this year going forward,” said MacEwen.

Ballard Power was up 19.6 per cent to $4.52 per share and Westport rose 18.8 per cent to $4.44 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.